Barium hydroxide octahydrate (Ba(OH)2•8H2O)-Crystal

Characteristic




Barium hydroxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula Ba(OH)2(H2O)x. The monohydrate (x =1), known as baryta or baryta-water, is one of the principal compounds of barium. This white granular monohydrate is the usual commercial form.




Chemical formula:Ba(OH)2

Molar mass:171.34 g/mol (anhydrous);189.355 g/mol (monohydrate);315.46 g/mol (octahydrate)

Appearance:white solid

Density:3.743 g/cm3 (monohydrate);2.18 g/cm3 (octahydrate, 16 °C)

Melting point:78 °C (172 °F; 351 K) (octahydrate);300 °C (monohydrate);407 °C (anhydrous)

Boiling point:780 °C (1,440 °F; 1,050 K)




Application




Bariium hydroxide is used as a precursor to other barium compounds. It is used in analytical chemistry for titration of weak acids, particularly organic acids. It removes the carbonate in water. It is a strong base, and is used as catalyst in many organic reactions, such as hydrolysis of esters and nitriles, decarboxylation of amino acids, selective hydrolysis of one of the ester groups in dimethyl hendecanedioate, and preparation of cyclopentanone, diacetone alcohol and D-Gulonic gamma-lactone.